I promised I was going to blog and then the hospital internet blocked all blogging websites! How frustrating! So I will try to start where I left off without making this too long, drawn out and boring. After I stopped the Magnesium Sulfate, I was moved up to antepartum. I only lasted about 4 hours up there before my contractions came back full force. I was given a shot of terbutaline, which seemed to stop the contractions, but a few minutes later, the baby's heart rate decellerated for 3 minutes. It was very scary. The nurse came in and had me flip from one side to another and then my room filled with nurses and they rushed me back down to L&D. By that time the baby's hearrate was stable but I was terrified. The doctor came and checked me and I had progressed to 3cm with a buldging bag of waters. At this point I had an u/s to check the presentation of the baby. The baby was head down so if I really went into labor, I was going to have a vaginal birth. I was started back on Magnesium Sulfate. A perinatologist came by and made the decision to stop the Mag and start me on a drug called Endocin. It is not widely used to prevent premature labor but it was a miracle drug and it held me over for 3 days. The drug can only be used for 72 hours as it has side effects on the baby and mom after that amount of time.
During all this time, my INCREDIBLE friend Kes was there by my side. Massaging me, giving me bed baths, tending to my EVERY need. She was amazing and I truly don't know how I would have made it through that experience without her. My other amazing friend, Sarah was at home with Travis, filling such an important roll. I could never thank these two friends enough.
After my last dose of Endocin, I was very nervous. I had progressed too far for them to continue any type of drugs to stop my labor. So then it was just truly a waiting game. My last dose was at 6pm on Monday, July 18th. I felt very strongly in my heart that I would be having a baby that next day. At 3am, things started to get serious. They baby was no longer tolerating contractions and I had to stay on my side. By morning, I felt as though I may be leaking fluid. I was also in a lot of pain, not just from contractions, but from the baby's movements. They were very low, strong, and painful. I had another ultrasound to check the baby's presentation and this time, baby was breech. I was devastated because I knew this meant that more than likely I would end up with a c-section. My doctor came by to check me. He was expecting to encouter the buldging bag of waters, but instead, he felt the baby's bottom, and discovered that my membranes had ruptured (water had broken). It was then quickly decided to take my for a c-section immediately.
Kes called Joseph immediately and he rushed to the hospital. She also called my mom and I texted my sister. I was beyond terrified. Everything after that happened very quickly. It was about 25 minutes later that I was laying numb on an OR table, about to have my baby cut out of me. Joseph made it JUST in time. Everyone was excited that this was a surprise baby because we were about to find out if we were having a boy or a girl! Finally after much tugging, pulling and suctioning, our tiny baby GIRL came into this world. I could not believe my ears when I heard, "It's a girl!" It truly was one of the scariest, but best moments of my life. Next, I heard her screaming, and that was music to my ears! Ava Belle Arledge came into this world at 10:08am on July 19, 2011, SCREAMING! Her apgars were 9 and 9! Absolutely incredible!
Ava is now 6 days old. She has done spectactular so far. She was moved from CPAP to a high flow cannula at only 2 days old. Our first setback occured when she was 3 days old. They discovered she had a very large PDA (Patent Ductus Arterosis). It is a valve very near the heart that needs to close when a baby is born but often does not with preemies. It creates problems as their body has a hard time pumping blood to the rest of the body and the lungs recieve too much blood. She started a 36 hour course of, ironically, the same drug that was used to stop my labor. Unfortunately it did not close the PDA so she is now on her second round of Endocin. We are praying it works because the next step would be surgery and obviously we do not want that.
In regards to breathing, Ava is on 3 liters of high flow. She has not required ANY oxygen at all! It is amazing! She is not getting any breastmilk right now because of the medicine she is on, but I am pumping every 2-3 hours and have a HUGE stash already so hopefully she starts to eat soon! She is absolutely precious and so much calmer than her brother! I am still over the moon that I have a daughter!
Coming home from the hospital was hard for me. Travis needs me but so does Ava and I have never felt so torn in my life. I want to be two places at once and it is impossible. It is going to take a while to adjust to life with a baby in the NICU again, while having a toddler at home. For now, Sarah is still here and my mom is getting here Thursday, so we will have help for a while, but I am just not sure what we will do after that. It is going to be a long road ahead and I just pray that Ava continues to do so well and comes home to us sooner rather than later!
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